A friend and I spent some time hula-hooping the other day, using some giant adult-sized hula hoops that were given to me by another friend. Tom had recently shown me some videos that had caught his eye of some amazing adult jump-ropers. I got to thinking about "recess for grown-ups." What games would a group of adults enjoy playing and how could they be updated and refreshed so they become more than just a nostalgia trip?
1. Hula-hoop with dance music. Instant fun!
2. Jump-rope, individual and also the type with two people holding and others jumping in and out. What new rhymes and songs could we come up with to go along with this?
3. Partner hand-clapping games. These seem like such a good medium for solidifying memories that I assumed there would be some new chants with educational content, but I haven't found any online. My sister pointed out that some of these games are similar to the "butterfly hug" (crossing arms and tapping the opposite arms or shoulders) as a strategy for calming anxiety. Additionally, "crossing midline" is an important developmental stage for children, and it seems from my quick reading that these motions of crossing the midline help the two sides of the brain integrate. Rich material for further exploration here! Probably we could all benefit from playing some hand-clapping games regularly!
4. Hopscotch. What if each space had a word or image in it, instead of a number? Of course, it's also just fun to draw on the sidewalk with chalk!
All of these would be fun done in the traditional way, but it could also be a lot of fun to come up with new ways to play! What other playground games did you enjoy?
Four-square, monkeybars, tag, catch, keep-away, red rover, simon says, duck-duck-goose, hide-and-seek...
Thursday, September 25, 2025
Wednesday, September 24, 2025
Reflections on a few podcast episodes I've enjoyed lately
First, a short list:
"Teamwork Between Species Is the Key to Life Itself"
Science Friday, Sept 18, episode 1,124 (22 min)"
Interview with ecologist Rob Dunn, author of The Call of the Honeyguide.
"The Spark of Life"
Radiolab, Sept 19, episode 659 (41 min)
Scientist Nirosha Murugan is studying the light emitted by cells within living beings, called "biophotons" and still very much not understood.
"The King is Dead, Now What? The 250-year Struggle for Democracy"
Human Nature Odyssey, 3-part series:
part 1, May 22, Season 2, episode 5 (50 min)
part 2, June 26, Season 2, episode 6 (54 min)
part 3, July 24, Season 2, episode 7, (63 min)
Starting with the French Revolution of 1789 and leading up to today, this series explores conservatism, liberalism, and radicalism as competing solutions to how societies should be governed. Alex Leff, the host, brings these abstract ideas and the not-abstract history alive with humor and good storytelling.
"Beyond Paradox" interview with Iaian McGilchrist
Planet: Critical, September 10 (1 hr, 22 min)
Described by host Rachel Donald as "neuro-philosopher and psychiatrist," McGilchrist is author of The Master and His Emissary. They discuss many things, including left/right brain functions based on people with damage to one or the other hemisphere. I'm skeptical about basing our assumptions about healthy brains on damaged brains, but I like his conclusion that we as a society would do better to be in touch with our right-hemisphere functions of intuition and creativity.
These took longer than I expected to look up and refresh my memory of them.
I'm now about to go listen to another while I do dishes:
"The Magic in the Tales We Tell: Living New Stories in the Service to Life" with Paddy Loughman
Accidental Gods, Sept 23, Season 24, episode 12 (1 hour, 11 min)
There is currently a smattering of rain on the aluminum roof of the patio, which I can hear through the open back door. It's lovely and so is the fact that I can sit inside in a tanktop with the back door open and listen to rain! This is not a normal set of circumstances here, since rain usually only comes with cold weather.
I am feeling torn between getting on with the listening and dish washing on the one hand, and on the other hand, going in now to link each of the episodes above so they are clickable. However, I listen to podcasts on my phone, and I'm typing this on my laptop, so that would involved looking them all up again, finding the right episode, and wrangling with the failing mousepad on this device. At least for now, getting up out of my chair seems the best course of action.
"Teamwork Between Species Is the Key to Life Itself"
Science Friday, Sept 18, episode 1,124 (22 min)"
Interview with ecologist Rob Dunn, author of The Call of the Honeyguide.
"The Spark of Life"
Radiolab, Sept 19, episode 659 (41 min)
Scientist Nirosha Murugan is studying the light emitted by cells within living beings, called "biophotons" and still very much not understood.
"The King is Dead, Now What? The 250-year Struggle for Democracy"
Human Nature Odyssey, 3-part series:
part 1, May 22, Season 2, episode 5 (50 min)
part 2, June 26, Season 2, episode 6 (54 min)
part 3, July 24, Season 2, episode 7, (63 min)
Starting with the French Revolution of 1789 and leading up to today, this series explores conservatism, liberalism, and radicalism as competing solutions to how societies should be governed. Alex Leff, the host, brings these abstract ideas and the not-abstract history alive with humor and good storytelling.
"Beyond Paradox" interview with Iaian McGilchrist
Planet: Critical, September 10 (1 hr, 22 min)
Described by host Rachel Donald as "neuro-philosopher and psychiatrist," McGilchrist is author of The Master and His Emissary. They discuss many things, including left/right brain functions based on people with damage to one or the other hemisphere. I'm skeptical about basing our assumptions about healthy brains on damaged brains, but I like his conclusion that we as a society would do better to be in touch with our right-hemisphere functions of intuition and creativity.
These took longer than I expected to look up and refresh my memory of them.
I'm now about to go listen to another while I do dishes:
"The Magic in the Tales We Tell: Living New Stories in the Service to Life" with Paddy Loughman
Accidental Gods, Sept 23, Season 24, episode 12 (1 hour, 11 min)
There is currently a smattering of rain on the aluminum roof of the patio, which I can hear through the open back door. It's lovely and so is the fact that I can sit inside in a tanktop with the back door open and listen to rain! This is not a normal set of circumstances here, since rain usually only comes with cold weather.
I am feeling torn between getting on with the listening and dish washing on the one hand, and on the other hand, going in now to link each of the episodes above so they are clickable. However, I listen to podcasts on my phone, and I'm typing this on my laptop, so that would involved looking them all up again, finding the right episode, and wrangling with the failing mousepad on this device. At least for now, getting up out of my chair seems the best course of action.
Tuesday, September 23, 2025
Getting Started Again
Today is the first day of "solar autumn," being the first day after the equinox. However, here in the Bay Area, this is our warmest time of year, and today is really showing off the heat, blue skies and stillness. Commonly-windy Richmond is feeling rather like Sacramento, where I grew up, and feeling the heat soak into my skin is pleasantly nostalgic.
I spent time this morning outside: first, in the backyard, tending to the chickens and garden, then in the park with my friend, hula-hooping and talking. Then, I hitched my trailer up to my bike and headed to El Granero to pick up chicken feed, but since they only take cash, I first did a short side quest to San Pablo Town Center to the bank. Towing my bike trailer is awkward, and my bike is set up in such a way that if I'm hauling much or heading uphill and have to stop, it's sometimes impossible for me to get enough momentum to push myself up onto my seat quickly enough to push down on the other pedal to keep moving forward, so I end up pushing off the ground with my left foot for awhile until I can get going fast enough to get up and ride. Probably a bike physicist could tell me what to do to improve this situation. Nonetheless, I had no mishaps or near misses on today's adventure, and I got my 50 pound bag of chicken feed home to the chooks.
I'm starting this new blog to propel myself back in to a more frequent writing practice, and to share that writing immediately rather than letting "better" get in the way of "done." I was just tempted to spend more time working on the layout, figuring out how to get pictures I want in the background, perfecting the description of the blog, etc. But instead I am writing with no plan, just to get the first post done and posted.
A few years ago I read a book about ADHD that had a slightly different take than most of the other books on ADHD that I have read over the years. I don't remember the title, but I do remember that one of the authors had worked at Kaiser Oakland for some period of time. The different angle that these authors took was to describe the common challenge for people with ADHD as being unable to start and stop activities appropriately. You may be familiar with the idea of hyperfocus, which some people with ADHD see as a superpower; one can also see it as an inability to stop when it's time to stop. Similarly, there's the often-lamented challenge with procrastination, which can be seen as a failure to start when it's time to start. Distraction in the middle of a task is both a failure to keep going (an inappropriately timed stopping) and an inappropriate starting of something else.
Whether I have ADHD or not (a debate for another post), I have found myself taking note of the times when I have trouble with starting or stopping. I recently re-read the description of my MBTI personality type (ENFP), and found some insight there: " The thrill of a new project – especially one that involves collaborating with other people – can bring out the best in these personalities. But ENFPs are known for having ever-evolving interests, meaning that they may find it challenging to maintain discipline and focus over the long term." I have also been trying to learn from the Enneagram type descriptors, and understanding that my #1 type means that I am always trying to do the right thing, which can be paralyzing since my imagination allows me to see a goal that is well beyond my reach. (I also spend a lot of time thinking about what the right and best thing is for each situation.) Even when I don't have a clear vision of what I'm aiming for (like in writing a blog post), I have a strong yearning to do things as well as I can, to do things as well as they can be done, to be really really good at whatever I do. And this space between what I can do *now* and what could be better if only I took more time to think, to plan, to research (and sometimes the "if only" is "if only someone else more skilled than I am did it"), this space between "done" and "better" is like me kicking along the side of my bike, deciding to walk instead of trying to mount and pedal.
But here I am, writing without planning. Posting without revision (will I really? that remains to be seen), kicking along the ground with my left leg, hands on the handlebars, gathering enough momentum to get my butt up on the bike seat so I can RIDE (and write) again!
I spent time this morning outside: first, in the backyard, tending to the chickens and garden, then in the park with my friend, hula-hooping and talking. Then, I hitched my trailer up to my bike and headed to El Granero to pick up chicken feed, but since they only take cash, I first did a short side quest to San Pablo Town Center to the bank. Towing my bike trailer is awkward, and my bike is set up in such a way that if I'm hauling much or heading uphill and have to stop, it's sometimes impossible for me to get enough momentum to push myself up onto my seat quickly enough to push down on the other pedal to keep moving forward, so I end up pushing off the ground with my left foot for awhile until I can get going fast enough to get up and ride. Probably a bike physicist could tell me what to do to improve this situation. Nonetheless, I had no mishaps or near misses on today's adventure, and I got my 50 pound bag of chicken feed home to the chooks.
I'm starting this new blog to propel myself back in to a more frequent writing practice, and to share that writing immediately rather than letting "better" get in the way of "done." I was just tempted to spend more time working on the layout, figuring out how to get pictures I want in the background, perfecting the description of the blog, etc. But instead I am writing with no plan, just to get the first post done and posted.
A few years ago I read a book about ADHD that had a slightly different take than most of the other books on ADHD that I have read over the years. I don't remember the title, but I do remember that one of the authors had worked at Kaiser Oakland for some period of time. The different angle that these authors took was to describe the common challenge for people with ADHD as being unable to start and stop activities appropriately. You may be familiar with the idea of hyperfocus, which some people with ADHD see as a superpower; one can also see it as an inability to stop when it's time to stop. Similarly, there's the often-lamented challenge with procrastination, which can be seen as a failure to start when it's time to start. Distraction in the middle of a task is both a failure to keep going (an inappropriately timed stopping) and an inappropriate starting of something else.
Whether I have ADHD or not (a debate for another post), I have found myself taking note of the times when I have trouble with starting or stopping. I recently re-read the description of my MBTI personality type (ENFP), and found some insight there: " The thrill of a new project – especially one that involves collaborating with other people – can bring out the best in these personalities. But ENFPs are known for having ever-evolving interests, meaning that they may find it challenging to maintain discipline and focus over the long term." I have also been trying to learn from the Enneagram type descriptors, and understanding that my #1 type means that I am always trying to do the right thing, which can be paralyzing since my imagination allows me to see a goal that is well beyond my reach. (I also spend a lot of time thinking about what the right and best thing is for each situation.) Even when I don't have a clear vision of what I'm aiming for (like in writing a blog post), I have a strong yearning to do things as well as I can, to do things as well as they can be done, to be really really good at whatever I do. And this space between what I can do *now* and what could be better if only I took more time to think, to plan, to research (and sometimes the "if only" is "if only someone else more skilled than I am did it"), this space between "done" and "better" is like me kicking along the side of my bike, deciding to walk instead of trying to mount and pedal.
But here I am, writing without planning. Posting without revision (will I really? that remains to be seen), kicking along the ground with my left leg, hands on the handlebars, gathering enough momentum to get my butt up on the bike seat so I can RIDE (and write) again!
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